Harry Potter and the New Era
by Michaelf
Summary: After the events last june Harry, Ron and Hermione leave for the Dursley's. What happens when Ginny appears and something happens that gives fresh hope to those with little. This story is AU not a continuation of HBP
1. Of Time and Trips

Well Ladies and Gents this is a rewrite of my first fic as I had originally given it up as I lost all motivation to continue it. However a couple of days ago I received a great review which prompted me to continue writing. However when I came to start I realized how bad the chapters were and so decided to rewrite them. I am truly, truly sorry to those of you who have been waiting for more of this and I will do my best.

For those who don't want to reread the chapter the rewrite starts from a couple of paragraphs down and is a MAJOR rewrite.

As you all know I am not J K Rowling and don't own HP. She's far to busy to write cruddy fan fiction.

Enjoy

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Chapter One – Of Time and Trips

Harry sat on the window sill gazing wistfully at a two children playing happily down the street. This was something that he had never been able to do and never would. For Harry's life had been anything from normal. Sometimes he just wished he could turn the clock back and start over, perhaps having a better chance of it a second time round. He missed the fact that he had never had a real childhood, that Voldemort had ruined everything he had and would have. Most of all he missed the two people that had, had the biggest influences on his life, Albus Dumbledore and Ginny Weasley.

At that moment Ron, who along with Hermione had been staying at Number 4 Privet Drive for the past week, gave a large grunt in his sleep. How someone could still be asleep at this time of the day he would never know. They had been staying with Harry since the end of term when he had informed them of his plans. Today was the first day in two weeks they hadn't been together as Hermione had left an hour ago to visit her parents before she joined Harry and Ron on a search for the Horcrux's. Giving Ron up as a lost cause after he had pummeled him several times with a pillow and received nothing more than a grunt, Harry headed for the kitchen, as he thought that it was about time for lunch. He left the room and headed down the hall before turning and walking down the stairs. He had his head bowed in thought and as such he didn't notice the appearance of the youngest Weasley until she coughed politely to get his attention.

Harry raised his head to see who the person was and promptly tripped over his own feet, with a small grunt he fell gracefully down the remaining stairs. He saw Ginny rush to catch him before his vision was obscured for a brief moment by a blinding flash before he crashed onto the bottom stair.

'What the bloody hell do you think you're playing at boy?' yelled a purple face Vernon Dursley.

'I tripped on the stair uncle,' snapped back Harry as he puzzled over the disappearance of Ginny.

'Don't you talk to me in the ungrateful tone, now get in here and fix the lunch.' That was strange thought Harry. It had been a while since his Uncle had had the guts to order Harry around, especially with two fully legal wizards in the house. He also noticed that his own voice had become strangely high and squeaky. He figured it was however better to do as his uncle said and get the lunch fixed. However when he finally bothered to look around he realized that everything appeared to be much larger than it looked no five minutes ago. "This is certainly odd," thought a confused Harry. Suddenly he realized that the twins must have come with Ginny and they probably hit him with a small shrinking hex for a laugh. To see how badly he had been hit he walked over to the mirror that hung on the otherwise blank wall in the corridor from the stairs to the kitchen. The image that greeted his eyes however caused Harry to almost fall over in shock. Glaring back at him from the surface of the mirror however was not that of a shrunken sixteen year old Harry, but that of a six year old Harry complete with taped glasses and Dudley hand me downs. It took him all of ten seconds to realize that this was more than a stupid joke and a further ten seconds to realize that if he was not in the kitchen soon his uncle would be out to "deal" with him. His Uncle had only hit him occasionally but he could remember every single time and he didn't want his uncle taking advantaged of his now smaller stature.

Hurriedly he rushed to the kitchen and set about performing the tasks his Aunt forced on him. He would figure this out later for now he would follow along with what was going on until he had chance to think. Whilst in the kitchen he noticed that not only did the Dursleys not comment on the fact that he was now an exact replica of his six year old self, but Dudley, who was perched on a chair at the table, was also looking about six in fact both the older Dursleys also appeared about ten years younger than they had looked when he had last seen them yesterday evening. He felt sure that the Dursleys would have been outraged at such blatant magical situation, the only reason he could see, as to why they hadn't mentioned it, was that either they had had their memories modified or they just didn't see anything different. There was something seriously weird going on here. It was almost like… but no that sort of thing was impossible. However before he could spend more time contemplating that mystery of the circumstances his uncle yelled at him again.

'Well boy don't just stand there get a move on.'

'Yes uncle,' and with that Harry started doling out the bacon and eggs for the Dursley's breakfast. He hurriedly wolfed down the single slice of bacon he dared take before he sprinted up stairs so that his uncle or aunt didn't have time to give him more chores to do. He desperately needed to find out what was going on and how to fix it. He quietly closed the door to his bedroom but not without noting the complete lack of both the locks and the cat flap that his uncle had installed just before his second year. The next thing that Harry noted was that the room was now completely devoid of all his school stuff as if it had never been there. The largest absence of all was the lack of a snoring Ron. All in all Harry was completely perplexed by what had happened presumably since he had landed at the bottom of the stairs. Could it be that the last six years of his life had all been a dream of his own making as a way to escape the fact that he was the slave of the Dursley's? If that was so then that would mean that this room wasn't his but still belonged to Dudley and if he was caught in here he would be accused of trying to steal his stuff. Quickly and quietly he let himself out of the room and crept down the stairs and peered into the cupboard under the stairs, there lay his worn mattress, his worst fears were confirmed. He almost broke down and cried right there. Non of it was real, he had made it all up. Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys even Ginny. Hurriedly he raced out of the front door making sure he wasn't caught. He knew that when he returned he would be in immense trouble for skipping on all of his chores for the day, but he no longer cared, he had just lost not only a few people such as Dumbledore and Sirius but everybody he had ever known in the "Wizarding World".

But as he neared the small alley way where he had first seen Sirius, he began to wonder, what if it was all real? What if he was a seer or something? Or, could it really be possible that he had somehow gone back in time or something. Either way he had to somehow verify whether he had made up the entire thing in some attempt to rid himself of the rigmarole of his life with the Dursleys, or if he really had somehow gained some way of redoing his entire life. The only way he could think of would be to confirm even a small amount of this would be to somehow get to Diagon Alley. How he was going to get there though he didn't have the foggiest.

As luck would have it, when he returned to Number Four, the Dursleys hadn't even noticed that he had disappeared as the were planning on taking Dudley to London buy him a gift to convince him that they weren't trying to get rid of him by sending him of to primary school. This was just the chance he had been looking, if he went with them he knew that they have to pass down the street that housed the Leaky Cauldron, but if he stayed with Mrs Figg then maybe he would be able to use his regained Six year old appearance to gain some sort of information for the women that in he "Dream" had been a Squib.

'Finally boy, as you know, Mrs Figg can't take you today as see has to take one of those stupid cats to the Vet. That means your coming with us, I want know funny business you here me,' ranted his uncle as Harry came out from his cupboard just as his uncle was coming down the stairs.

'Yes uncle,' Harry replied, trying to not act as though Christmas had come early for him, considering what his Christmas' were like this was easier than it should have been for any six year old child. 'Right well into the car, and mind you don't get dirt in it or you'll be in that cupboard all the way through the summer.

With that Harry hurried to get to the car making to open the car doors like a chauffer to the Dursleys. Soon though he was squashed between the door and his vastly over weight cousin. Even at six his whale like body managed to take up a larger proportion of the back seat than and average adult, but Harry scarcely cared as in under and hour he would be able to see whether the past years had just been the result of an elaborate imagination. All too soon they began driving through London heading towards the beast toy stores as of course Dudley would have nothing but the best most "in" toys despite the fact that he would either never use them or break them in frustration with in several hours. But Harry couldn't have liked his greedy, spoilt cousin more at this moment as one of his favorite stores happened to lie on the same street as the Leaky Cauldron, or at least it had in his "Dream".

Finally the arrived at in Charing cross road and Uncle Vernon spent the next ten minute parking the car whist moaning about the inadequacies of the London traffic police. As soon as the were out of the car the began to head in the direction of the Toy store that Dudley loved so much and as usual Harry was instantly forgotten about. He knew from bitter experience that he wouldn't be missed until they needed someone to carry the bags back to the car, he also knew that Dudley would also spend at least and hour wandering through the store looking for the most expensive that they had, this gave plenty of time for Harry to slip of unnoticed in the opposite direction. Within five minutes he same something that almost mad him break down for the second time that day. For there sandwiched between the Old book store and the music shop stood the shabby front of the most famous Wizarding pub in London and the hidden entrance to the all wizarding area know as Diagon Alley, or at least so he hoped. Silently he slid through the open door of the dingy bar and looked around, luck seemed to be with him again that day as, as he entered he saw a small family making its way towards the back of the pub and one of them was holding what was unmistakably a wand. It also reminded him that he would have to follow them into the Alley as without a wand of his own there was no way he would be able to open the arch. With as much speed as an underfed six year old could muster he followed the family through the back door and was rewarded with the sight he had though that morning he might never see again, the sight of a brick wriggling out of the wall so as to create and arch on to the street behind. The one that was now packed full of shopping wizards and witched all dressed in full wizarding wear.

Once he had slipped through the arch he began pondering what he would do now he had verified that he had not invented the past few years but that they had just yet to happen. His first thought was that he needed money if he was to gain anything, the second thought that came to him was that if he could gain some money then he would not be returning to Number Four Privet Drive ever again, Dumbledore be damned. It was the second thought that actually caused him to actually shed a tear, as the thought of Dumbledore reminded him of the funeral he had "Attended" only a few days ago and also that Dumbledore should now be very much alive, which also meant so should Sirius.

So Harry picked up his pace and hurried towards the grand white building that was home top the only Wizarding bank in England. Easing the door open he stepped into the well lit entrance hall in the middle of a very busy Gringotts and moved to join one of the many queues that were waiting for a goblin to become available. Whilst he waited he pondered how he was going to convince the goblins that He really was Harry Potter and was therefore eligible to withdraw money as he didn't have his key (Which he assumed was currently in the possession of the headmaster of Hogwarts). Before he had come up with a solution however he found himself face to face with the impatient, pointy features of one of the goblins.

'Yes,' it asked in an impatient drawl.

'Erm, I was wondering if there was anyway I could gain access to my vault with out being in possession of my key.'

'You will need to be blood tested for that you need Banking inquiries, this is job applications.' He replied tersely whilst pointing to a previously unnoticed sign above his head. Harry thanked him profusely and headed to the aforementioned line. He didn't have to wait long before a third goblin was leading him off to be tested against the records they kept of all their clientele.

'This way if you please Mr Potter, you understand the need for security I hope.'

'Oh yes sir,' replied Harry thinking it best to not let on that he had the experiences of a seventeen year old despite the fact that he appeared to be and for all intensive purposes was six.

'Now you understand that normally we wouldn't proceed with this test without a signed consent form from a parent or legal guardian. However we are aware of you background and the manager has personally allowed it. So if I could have you arm I will just take a small amount of blood and place it to this parchment.' With that he placed a piece of crisp new parchment from his jacket pocket on to the table in the small ante room that they were now on before withdrawing a small needle with which he pierced Harry's finger.

Harry then squeezed the blood onto the sheet of parchment and watched as red letters began spreading out across the page forming his name in full.

'Thank you Mr Potter, that is all we need from you. Once you have completed your withdrawal I can arrange for a new key to be ready for you and the old one canceled, if that is to your satisfaction.'

'Oh that would be perfect as I suspect that I shall be returning many times.'

'Also something which the manager has authorized me to discuss with you despite you age is the use of one of our never ending moneybags. The with automatically withdraw the stated amount from you account without the need to be refilled '

'You do those, cool, that would be perfect as I will have quite a bit of shopping to do today, thank you so much.'

As such it was not long before a now well funded Six year old stood on the steps of Gringotts peering down the street with a small black dragon hide money bag under his arm deciding what he would need next.

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Thank you again to RUBY for the encouraging review this chap is dedicated to you

Right well there's chapter one done. My English is not that great (despite the fact that it's the only language I speak) so if anyone fancies beta-ing then give me a message in the review.

Incase anyone was wondering I'm from England (Eastbourne) so there will not be a need for brit picking but any HP mistakes I will correct.

I hope you all stick around

Mike


	2. Freedom

Well here's the next chapter for you all I hope you enjoy.

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Chapter Two – Freedom

The first thing Harry decided he would need would be and owl or at least some form of communication. He remembered that Hermione had once mentioned how irritating it was,having to wait for Pig or Hedwig to arrive in order to send a message and he told himself then that he would never be caught without a method of communication. So his first stop was Eylopes Owl Emporium. When he entered the small building he was reminded of the first time he had come here with Hagrid in his "Dream" and remembered how good a friend Hedwig had been to him He had no idea how long owls lived, but if there was any chance of it he would be getting Hedwig again. So he immediately began looking around the store for any young looking snowy owls, however when he couldn't see any immediately he walk over the counter to ask if they had any in stock.

'We actually we have several that hatched only a few months ago and we usually don't sell them as there not ready for delivering post. However if your just wanting a pet for now that will be able to carry your post later then they would be perfect. If you just follow me then I will show them to you and then when your parents come we can arrange a price.'

'Thank you sir, but I have my own money.'

The store owner gave him a slightly quizzical look before he led Harry to the back of the store where in small aviary we fluttering several Owl chicks, all of them had fledged but non of the where old enough to handle the long distance flights involved in the carrying and delivering of mail. But at this moment in time Harry didn't care that much, if he could be reunited with just a small part of what he had before then he would just use a postal owl for a couple of months.

'Sir how long do they usually live for?'

'Wild ones will live for about ten years,' he responded but apon seeing the lengthening of Harry's face he reassured him by continuing, 'But these will live for several decades due to there being magical and all, we had one wizard who had had his for forty years!'

'Wow. I'll just have a look at them before I decide if that Ok.'

'That's fine, just being careful of the claws and beak there very sharp.'

'Yes sir'

Harry then proceeded to view all of the smaller owls. He knew that if she was here then he would be able to recognize her. Sure enough perched quietly in the corner pensively viewing the antics of her bothers and sisters with the distain that he clearly remembered written all over Hedwig's face whenever she laid those large amber eyes on Ron's owl Pigwidgeon.

'Still as uptight as always I see,' he whispered affectionately to her and was rewarded by a familiar nip on the ear as she fluttered to rest on his shoulder.

'Ah I see you seem to have had your choice made for you.'

'I'll warn you now that that one isn't that much fun. She will be the most amazing post owl though in a few months. As such the price for her is rather hefty, but as she seems so attached to you already I will give you a slight discount, shall we say twenty galleons.

Harry quickly withdrew the correct amount for Hedwig and a new cage, and soon left felling much happy than he had been just a few hours ago. He asked the owner to shrink the cadge so it would fit in his pocket and allowed Hedwig to perch on his shoulder before leaving for the brightly lit bustle of the Diagon Alley/

His next stop he decided would be to get a wand if possible then a large multi-compartmental trunk. So he headed of in the direction of Ollivanders deciding that he would take his time as now no longer had to hurry for the Dursleys. As he was slowly wandering his way down the Alley he suddenly felt a small hand on he shoulder before being whirled around, only to be confronted by the last person he expected to have come up to him. For there in front of him stood the diminutive form of Ginny Weasley.

'Harry do you know who I am,'

'Of course, how could I forget someone like you Gin…but hang on if you know who I am then that must mean that…but no two people can't have the same dream can they.'

'Dream? What are you talking about?'

'Well I remember having this really weird dream about what my life was going to be like for the next ten years and then I must have been sleep walking because I woke up at the bottom of the stairs.'

'But don't you see, we've gone back in time and somehow taken the places of our younger selves. I don't know how but I can't talk now My family will be after me if I don't get back now. Write to me and then we can get together and sort all this out. We might have to tell Dumbledore though. He would be the only person besides perhaps Hermione that would have the faintest idea what is going on.'

'Ok, I'll owl you once I get sorted as I don't fancy ever returning to the Dursley's I want to see my choices.'

'Bye Harry. Oh and if you want a home of sorts try the third shop down from Ollivanders,' she replied with a wink before dashing of through the crowd to where Harry could see a gaggle of red heads emerging from the apothecary.

Still puzzling the revelation that the meeting of Ginny Weasley had reveled, Harry headed of once more to the dark and dusty recess that was Ollivanders. The first thing he noticed when he stepped through the door was that absolutely nothing had changed from, if Ginny was to be believed, the last time had stepped through the same door all of ten years ago. The store was still as dusty as ever and the shelves were still lined with hundreds upon hundreds of small boxes that Harry knew to contain wands. In the center of he room still sat the small rickety chair that had almost been broken by Hagrid in what was both the near future and the past. He coughed politely and then said, 'Um, Mr Ollivander, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to get a wand.'

'Ah Mr Potter I was wondering when I would be seeing you, though I had no idea that it would be as soon as this. I am afraid that I cannot sell I wand to someone of you age,' responded Mr Ollivander as he emerged from the shadows of the back of the store. In little more than a whisper however he continued, 'I am, however, well aware of your story and am willing to make and exception on one condition. I will fit you out with a wand only if you can tell me which core you think would be most suitable for you.'

Harry appeared to think it over for a minute before he replied to the old man's query. 'Well I have heard that you use Phoenix tail feathers in your wands and I have always thought from the moment I learnt I was a wizard that one of the things I was most looking forward to seeing would be a phoenix. So I will say that a Phoenix feather might be best.'

'Very well Mr Potter we shall see.'

With that he began hand wand after wand to him, all of which contained a single feather from the tail of a phoenix. However the more wands they tried the larger the smile, on the man's face, seemed to get.

'Well Mr Potter it would seem that you were incorrect in you assumptions.'

'Please, just try one more, how about a Holly one.'

'Very well…hmmm…I wonder…It just might work. Try this one here.'

Harry took it from him and immediately felt the familiar warmth of his wand return to his body as he swished the wand and levitated the chair in the center of the room a few feet of the ground.

'Interesting….Very interesting… Well Mr Potter it would seem that I have some competition in my field if you should ever choose it. That will be seven Galleons and four sickles.'

Harry handed over the money amazed that he had managed to gain his wand without raising any suspicion about knowing what his wand would be made of. Shielding his eyes as he left the store he wondered at how safe he now felt with his wand firmly ensconced in the waistband of his trousers (well as firmly as possible considering they were his cousins trousers). This gave Harry the idea of where he was going later. However if he was to do any more substantial shopping he would need to sort out some form of accommodation as such he found himself standing in front of the store Ginny had mentioned and found that it sold all sorts of magically assisted spaces. The store inside immediately reminded Harry of the showrooms for kitchens and bathrooms. The left hand walls held all sorts of trunks and boxes clearly designed with travel in mind and some of them offered full living areas, one even boasted having a fully fitted Quidditch pitch. Along the opposite wall stood doors of all shapes and sizes from garage sized doors to doors for cupboards and drawers. These, according to the sign, were placed against any free wall and instantly created the right kind of space, be it a room or a kitchen cabinet, behind it without taking up more room than the door itself. Harry thought that these were a fascinating idea but for him thought that they might be a little impractical. As such he decided to stick with some form of magical trunk.

After a few minutes of seeing what kind of things could be done with the space in the trunk, Harry decided that the best thing for him would be to buy a single compartment trunk and have it personalized to his requirements. It took him a while to get the shopkeeper to believe that he had the required sum for a personalized trunk, before he would enter into any sort of negotiations as to the contents. Finally he began to explain what he wanted. However half way through his explanations the owner stopped him mid-sentence and whilst staring fairly pointedly at the scar on his forehead stated, 'Blimey, your Harry Potter.'

'Yes, but I don't see what that has to do with anything.'

'Well I was listening to your plan, I began wondering why a six year old would want a trunk of this size, let alone with the fittings that you have suggested,' upon seeing Harry's look though he hurriedly explained himself, 'Now I know its none of my business and I usually wouldn't care so long as the customer has the cash, but when I realized who you were I assumed you had never been informed of the huge house you own else you wouldn't be buying this trunk.'

'I'm not sure I follow sir, what house? The only home my parents owned was Godric's Hollow and that was destroyed.'

'Oh no, that was the house that your father bought your mother. You see I used to work as an Auror before I started this,' he explained whilst waving a hand vaguely at the store, 'I considered myself a friend of you father and his little clique. And I helped him furbish the house at Godric's Hollow. Whilst I was with him he told me once that the Potters also Had an ancestral home, which incidentally was where his parents lived before You-know-who got to them. Sadly I have no idea as to its location, but I'm sure if you ask at Gringotts they'll know. If not I'll make this trunk half price for giving you the run around.'

'Wow sir. I just learnt more about my parents in the last ten minutes than in my entire life thank you. I will be back I think I will still be wanting the trunk only without some of the extras. Thank you again.'

He left the shop not believing the amount of luck he was having today. If he didn't know better he would have thought he had drunk an entire vial of Luck potion.

So it was with a light heart that Harry paid his second visit to the white marble building. It wasn't long before Harry was again being led down a corridor once again to see a goblin about locating his home.

'A pleasure again Mr Potter, what can we do this time?'

'I have just learned that there is a chance that I own a house some where in Britain aside from the one in Godric's Hollow and was wondering if there was any mention of it in the potter assets?'

'With a snap of the goblins long green fingers a large folder appeared on the desk and the goblin began leafing through it. Well Mr Potter it would seem that you do indeed own more than one property, in fact a total of four, including the plot in Godric's hollow. It seem s you own a large mansion, not far from Hogsmead actually a small farm that is rented out in Yorkshire and a second cottage in Devon. We have the keys for all the properties as well as a list of all the wards around the properties. Will you be taking them immediately?'

'Yes please, also if you have directions to them that would be perfect.'

'I will go one better, I will have permanent portkey's made up, will you need more than one or not.'

'Actually if you have two available that would be brilliant.'

'I will have them ready for you at the main desk. If you would just sign here…Thank you. Will that be all?'

'Yes. Thank you again for your help.'

Harry signed the couple of sheets that the goblin handed him before heading towards the foyer to collect the portkey to not just his house but his new found freedom. He had already decided that he would give the extra portkeys to Ginny once they had arranged a meeting. First though he needed to see the owner of the trunk shop again as he had had a small brainwave on how to easily communicate with Ginny without raising suspicion. However he realized as he stepped out into the Alley again that he would have to hurry as it was already beginning to get dark. Hastily he left his request and decided that he would sort out his new life after a good nights sleep. With that he grabbed the first portkey and felt the familiar tug in his abdomen. And after a sickening whirling sensation landed sprawled on a cold marble floor in a large dark entrance Hall

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Well thanks again for reading. Feel free to leave a review about anything on the story.

Mike


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